In an incident where a Muslim man was thrashed to death by a group of Hindu men accusing him of theft in a Hindu house in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, the police have now registered an FIR for dacoity and assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty against the deceased victim and five others, including the victim’s brother.
Communal tensions have surged after the lynching of a Muslim man and the subsequent filing of a counter First Information Report (FIR) against the deceased, Aurangzeb alias Farid, a 35-year-old Muslim man, and six others, The Wire reported.
Farid was lynched by a group of Hindu men on June 18, an act captured on a viral video that has ignited widespread outrage and condemnation.
Aurangzeb's death occurred after he was brutally beaten by local men who accused him of attempting theft at a Hindu trader’s residence. Following his death, an FIR was lodged against him and six other Muslim men on June 29.
The charges include dacoity and assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. This FIR was based on a complaint by Laxmi Rani Mittal, who alleged that Aurangzeb and his companions committed a robbery at her house, a claim that starkly contrasts the viral video and the FIR filed by Aurangzeb's family.
Mittal's complaint narrates a harrowing ordeal where a group of armed men allegedly entered her home, threatened her with a gun, and stole jewellery and cash. She further claimed that Aurangzeb, while attempting to flee, slipped and injured himself on the staircase.
According to her, it was the locals who caught Aurangzeb after hearing her cries for help. She also mentioned that the local police initially did not lodge her complaint, forcing her to escalate the matter to the Superintendent of Police.
On the other side, Aurangzeb's brother, Mohammed Zaki, filed an FIR on the day of the lynching against ten identified and several unidentified persons, accusing them of murder, unlawful assembly, and rioting with deadly weapons. Zaki's complaint detailed how Aurangzeb, identified as a Muslim by his assailants, was brutally beaten to death in what he described as a mob lynching. This FIR led to the arrest of four individuals.
The incident has further escalated with political and communal overtones. Mukta Raja, a local BJP Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), has publicly supported those arrested for Aurangzeb's murder, alleging their false implication.
Raja, along with Hindutva activists and traders from the Hindu community, organized a protest on June 19, demanding a halt to further arrests and questioning the police's actions against the accused.
The communal divide in the area has intensified, with members of both Hindu and Muslim communities taking to the streets. Despite the heightened tensions, no additional violence has been reported. However, the situation remains volatile, with significant pressure on law enforcement to handle the matter impartially and prevent any escalation.
While Mittal's account portrays a desperate attempt to defend her home from armed intruders, Zaki's narrative frames the incident as a brutal and targeted lynching driven by religious identity.
case highlights the complex interplay of crime, communal identity, and politics in Uttar Pradesh, reflecting broader challenges faced across India.